We found the following: (1) a co-citation analysis of the recommendations cited by all 552 articles indicated 15 clusters. Some researchers also verified the potential of adipose-derived stem cells to differentiate into stable retinal perivascular cells, using a variety of animal models of retinal vascular disease. All of these achievements provided recommendations for the subsequent stem cell research. (2) An analysis of popular keywords among the 552 articles revealed that, during the past 20 years, a relative increase in basic research articles examining stem cells and endothelial progenitor cells for the treatment of diabetic retinopathy was observed. The contents of these articles primarily involved the expression of vascular Ketanserin (Vulketan Gel) endothelial growth factor, vascular regeneration, oxidative stress, and inflammatory response. (3) A burst analysis of keywords used in the 552 articles indicated that genetic and cytological research regarding the promotion of angiogenesis was an issue of concern from 2001 to 2012, including several studies addressing the expression of various growth factor genes; from 2014 to 2020, mouse models of diabetic retinopathy were recognized as mature animal models, and the most recent research has focused on macular degeneration, macular edema, neurodegeneration, and inflammatory changes in diabetic animal models. (4) Globally, the current authoritative Ketanserin (Vulketan Gel) studies have focused on basic research Ketanserin (Vulketan Gel) towards stem cell treatment of diabetic retinopathy. Existing clinical studies are of low quality and have insufficient evidence levels, and their findings have not yet been widely accepted in clinical practice. Major challenges during stem cell transplantation remain, including stem cell heterogeneity, cell Ketanserin (Vulketan Gel) delivery, and the effective homing of stem cells to damaged tissue. However, clinical trials examining potential stem cell-based treatments of diabetic retinopathy, Rabbit Polyclonal to EFEMP1 including the use of pluripotent stem cells, retinal pigment epithelial cells, bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells, and endothelial progenitor cells, are currently ongoing, and high-quality clinical evidence is likely to appear in the future, to promote clinical transformation. Key Words: diabetes, diabetic retinopathy, epithelial cells, macula, progenitor cells, retina, stem cells, visual analysis Chinese Library Classification No. R453; R364.5; R741 Introduction Existing treatments for diabetic retinopathy primarily include laser photocoagulation, the intravitreal injection of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) antibodies, and vitrectomy (Wong et al., 2016; Fiori et al., 2018). However, these treatments only aim to delay or prevent this persistent degenerative disease, and few studies have explored the pathogenesis and etiology of this disease. Numerous studies have confirmed that stem cells are involved Ketanserin (Vulketan Gel) in the occurrence and development of diabetic retinopathy, and the underlying mechanisms are still being explored (Megaw and Dhillon, 2014; Gaddam et al., 2019). Stem cells have the potential to delay the progression of diabetic retinopathy and to reduce the symptoms of such diseases (Bhattacharya et al., 2017; Kuriyan et al., 2017; Nirwan et al., 2019). In recent years, cell regenerative therapies for diabetic retinopathy have been preliminarily confirmed to be effective in some experimental animal studies, consolidating the preclinical research foundations in this field. The cell types that have been explored for use during regenerative therapy include cell-specific endogenous stem cells, endothelial progenitor cells, embryonic stem cells, induced pluripotent stem cells, and mesenchymal stem cells. Recent studies examining mesenchymal stem cells, endothelial progenitor cells, and adipose stromal cells have shown that cell-based therapies may be viable options for the prevention of neurovascular damage and the promotion of retinal regeneration (Megaw and Dhillon, 2014; Gaddam et al., 2019). In this paper, we visually analyzed the research hotspots related to stem cell use for the treatment of diabetic retinopathy over the past 20 years and the expectations for the future development of cell therapy for comparable diseases. Data and Methods Retrieval strategy The first author retrieved all articles regarding the stem cell.
